In latest round, Meta laid off approximately 6,000 more employees today

Wednesday, May 24, 2023

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Today brings news of more layoffs at Meta, a bold initiative from Ebanx and more humanoid robots. Don’t forget to apply for Startup Battlefield 200 by May 31. It comes with a chance to win $100,000 in equity-free $$ and “cool kid creds.” This is your Daily Crunch for Wednesday. — Christine

Meta continued with its so-called Year of Efficiency with another round of layoffs. These were not a surprise — employees knew this would happen back in March — but I imagine it doesn’t lessen the sting any. See how many people were impacted.

If you are one of the many sufferers of obstructive sleep apnea, you know that wearing a CPAP at night is necessary, but not always comfortable. Enter U.K.-based Acurable, which received FDA clearance to bring its tiny, wireless sleep apnea diagnostic wearable to the U.S. Find out just how tiny it is.

Remember when Figure’s humanoid robot took its first steps? The company now has $70 million in new capital, so I’m thinking by the end of the year, it should be running. Anyone wanna take that bet?

Going over the big ocean: Ebanx, a Brazilian fintech unicorn, has its sights set on Africa. Read more about its expansion plans.

In demand: Snowflake and others backed DataOps.live’s $17.5 million round for DevOps-style tools aimed at data experts. Get the scoop.

Size matters: Well, small size when you’re talking about climate. Find out how Volvo’s EX30 measures up.

This fund is on fire: U.K.’s Moonfire VC says it is reviewing 50,000 startups every week. It’s a good thing it now has $115 million in a second fund. Read more on how startups can make the cut.

Here’s a few more:

Microsoft’s AI reaches Indian villages

DouxMatok takes sweet journey to become Incredo after securing $30M

The Backbone One: PlayStation Edition mobile controller is now available for Android

Image Credits: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch

Now let’s take a look at the streaming sector where there was a lot of noise. Xfinity customers are in luck because Comcast now has a $20 streaming service called NOW TV. Find out more about what it includes. Paramount+ now has a launch date for its combo with Showtime. Guess what? It comes with a price hike. Read more. Meanwhile, music streaming platform SoundCloud reportedly has laid off a portion of its staff. Find out what happened.

Out in space, read about how Astranis’ approach to internet satellites is starting to pay off, and what Gitai plans to do with robots and Mars.

Can’t be a fly on the wall?: We’ve got you covered. Elon Musk headlined The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council this week. We have excerpts from that conversation.

“Skor” one for knowing your credit score: It’s an important number, and Skorlife wants to help Indonesians know what theirs is. See what it does.

Don’t mock me: WireMock lands $6.5 million to help developers build and test on mock APIs. Learn more.

Lookin’ good: Indian kids fashion brand Hopscotch now has $20 million. Find out which Big Tech backed it.

Not playing around: The U.S. government targets North Korea with new sanctions after reports say a group of IT workers fraudulently gained employment. Read what they planned to use their earnings for.

You won’t want to miss these five:

Opera launches new integrated AI sidebar powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT

Google to work with Europe on stop-gap ‘AI Pact’

Laced, a UK-based resale marketplace for authenticated premium sneakers, raises $12M

Jumia reaches lowest losses in four years under new management

The surgeon general’s advisory on risks of youth social media use could shift the conversation

Image Credits: Comcast

Harness the potential of generative AI

Early-stage board decks are dead: How to run a meeting in 60 minutes

After sales software startup TigerEye closed its Series A and established a board of directors, its co-founders put them on notice:

One thing we’d like to never do is the three-hour, too-in-the-weeds, non-strategic board meeting.

“Every board deck I’ve made and seen is more than 80 pages long,” says Tracy Young, co-founder and CEO of TigerEye. “I am not exaggerating.”

In this TC+ article, she explains how to structure a one-hour board meeting that creates more value for founders and investors. Step one: Replace your enormous deck with a three-page memo!

Five more from the team:

Ask Sophie: What are my options if a company rescinds my OPT job offer?

Why aren’t venture capitalists flocking to fund cybersecurity startups?

Mastercard sees ‘a lot of promise’ in blockchain tech if safety and simplicity are prioritized

Ten months after promotion, Red Hat CEO Matt Hicks navigates layoffs and AI’s rise

What’s getting funded in climate tech

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